With Kawann Short moving from a limited participant yesterday to not practicing at all on this blustery, cold, rainy day at the Bank of America Stadium Practice Fields, it appeared there may be reason to worry the defensive tackle may not be available for Monday night when the Panthers face off with the two-headed monster in the backfield of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, but Ron Rivera said he’s not feeling that worry.
“No level of concern,” said Rivera. “I mean obviously, he didn’t practice today, [but] he went through the walkthrough [and] stuff like that, but we had to list him. We’ll see how he is tomorrow, but like I said, I don’t have any concern for that.”
With Short likely to play, that leaves kicker Graham Gano as the lone player the Panthers may hold out on Monday as Gano continues to battle a knee injury to his plant leg that he’s been dealing with for a few weeks – the Panthers signed Chandler Catanzaro and the replacement kicker was perfect last week in Cleveland and is expected to be ready for Monday.
Cam Newton continues to be limited on Thursday – Friday this week – practices and didn’t throw during the open portion of practice, and Rivera said that the importance of the final practice of the week, usually held on Fridays, but held this week on Saturday, is even more heightened when Newton can’t throw for the first two sessions of the week.
“When he’s practicing on Friday, everybody has to be where they need to be, the timing has to be good – I think they’ve handled it very well, considering the circumstances,” said Rivera as his team practiced outdoors on a day with temperatures in the forties and cold, continuous rain.
“In spite of the weather today, I thought practice was spirited – they pushed through it [and] they focused in on the game plans,” said Rivera as the team prepares for a must-win game against the Saints on Monday. “It’s one of those things when guys recognize and realize, they step up.”
Check out the full injury report below:
| Name | Injury | Practice Participation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Adams | Rest/Wrist | Full | |
| Chris Clark | Knee | Full | |
| Thomas Davis | Rest | Full | |
| Graham Gano | Left Knee | None | |
| Rashaan Gaulden | Illness | Full | |
| Julius Peppers | Rest | Full | |
| Cam Newton | Right Shoulder | Limited | |
| Kawann Short | Calf | None |
